Automotive designers have devised an array of solutions to the situation presented by the need to manage energy and deformation in the event of a side impact upon a vehicle. More precisely, in the event that a side facing passenger door of a vehicle is impacted during a collision, it is generally desirable to limit intrusion by the door into the passenger compartment. However, a very rigid door suffering little deformation during a heavy impact would cause more kinetic energy to be transferred to the vehicle, which is not necessarily desirable. U.S. Pat. No. 6,053,565 discloses a solution to limiting door intrusion in the course of a side impact, which includes a side impact bar having a pyrotechnically driven component which is extended into the B pillar of the vehicle in the event of a side impact. The system of the '565 patent does not address the issue of controlling recession of the bottom part of the door in the event of a side impact, nor does it provide a system which locks in place with the structure into which the stopper pin is engaged.
A system and method according to the present invention solves the problems with prior art devices by providing positive locking of the vehicle door to the rocker beam underlying the door, with the deployment of the catcher pin being controlled by a supplemental restraint system onboard the vehicle.